The pressure-distributing plates provided in ski boots or shoes of the above mentioned type are supposed to absorb and distribute the forces, which result during a tight clamping of the shoes, as this is done in order to achieve a solid fit of the shoe, in order to essentially avoid a point-focal effect of pressure-applying forces onto the foot; these pressure-distributing plates are furthermore supposed to achieve through their movability an adaptation of the shape of the shoe to the shape of the foot. These pressure-distributing plates, which are connected directly or indirectly on the right and on the left side of the front instep opening of the shoes to the upper part of the shoe, must for stepping into the shoes and for exiting from the shoes be moved away from one another in transverse direction of the shoe in order to render wide the instep opening and to thus enable a stepping into and a stepping out of the shoe.
Sports shoes of the above mentioned type are known in which the pressure-distributing plates are mounted directly to the upper part of the shoe by rivets which extend through slotted holes provided in the pressure-distributing plates at the connecting points; thus a longitudinal movability of the pressure-distributing plates relative to the upper part of the shoe exists. In order to move the pressure-distributing plates apart in transverse direction of the shoe for opening of the front instep openings of the shoes, those zones of the upper parts of the shoe, where the pressure-distributing plates are mounted, and, if necessary, also the pressure-distributing plates themselves must be bent away from one another under an elastic deformation; such a bending apart often requires an awkward handling. On the one hand, the moving apart of the pressure-distributing plates demands a certain application of force and, on the other hand, the pressure-distributing plates must be held apart during stepping in and stepping out in order to counteract the elastic forces which try to move the bent-apart pressure-distributing plates again toward one another; an undesired stress on the material results also from the bending apart of the pressure-distributing plates, which bending apart is carried out for the stepping in and stepping out, which stress on the material can reduce the lifetime of the shoes.
Furthermore, a sports shoe is known from EP-B1-0 316 540 which has two holding elements arranged inside of the shaft of the shoe, which holding elements are designed saddlelike and extend side-by-side in longitudinal direction of the shoe from the fore-foot area over the front instep area. These holding elements are connected at their front ends to the shaft of the shoe, with this connection being formed by slotted holes and guide bolts received in said slotted holes and permitting a movement of these front ends relative to the shaft of the shoe in longitudinal direction of the shoe and transversely thereto. These holding elements are pulled with Bowden cables or flexible wires against the front instep area of the foot or an inner shoe surrounding the foot.
Throughout this application, sports shoe includes and specifically refers to a ski boot.